A Norwegian Grammar Sparrer

The first small steps in learning a new language reside in mastering the patterns of small sentences and small constructions. The mastery grows partly from recognizing what are the admitted patterns, partly from using these patterns over and over again until they sit in one's backbone. When learning a language as a 'second' language and with an available time period much shorter than for one's native language, the opportunities of such use training are normally few or non-existent. The Grammar Sparrer provides one with an environment in which one can get feedback on linguistic patterns of one's choice, with repetition and variations and explorations in exactly the directions one wants. The Sparrer is found at ,

and instructions for its use at Classroom:Norwegian Grammar Checking

For each expression you type into the Sparrer, you get a response as to whether the string belongs to an admitted pattern or not, and if not, the Sparrer tells you what you did wrong. With the facilities of the Grammar Sparrer, you can repeat the same or partly the same material as much as you like, and you can impose ever new variations in the patterns as you like. With intensive sessions, you can both explore and drill the basic patterns of the language, and soon become ready for the more elaborate patterns of the language.

Behind this Sparrer is a computational grammar of the language, with the sparring function as one of its applications. The 'advices' given are derived from the rules that the grammar applies in order to retract how a string conforms to the language (i.e., when it parses the string). Information about the grammar can be found at Norwegian HPSG grammar NorSource.

The phenomena for which the Sparrer provides feedback messages are found at Phenomena.

For an overview of phenomena of possible feedback messages, go to Feedback messages.